Parirenyatwa Hospital

Parirenyatwa Hospital formerly known as the Andrew Fleming Hospital, is a General Hospital in Harare and is the largest medical centre in Zimbabwe.Before independence, it was known as the Andrew Fleming Hospital and was named after the principal medical officer to the British South Africa Company.

After Zimbabwean independence in 1980, the hospital was renamed in honour of Tichafa Samuel Parirenyatwa (1927–1962), a close associate of Joshua Nkomo and the first black person from the country to qualify as a doctor of medicine.

It is on the List Of Approved COVID-19 Testing Laboratories In Zimbabwe.
See Hospital.
List of Hospitals in Zimbabwe.

Sections

The Hospital includes

general medical and surgical sections,
Mbuya Nehanda, a maternity section;
Sekuru Kaguvi, which specialises in eye treatment;
an annex for psychiatric patients
several specialist paediatric wards.

It has in excess of 5000 beds and 12 theatres in the main hospital complex

College of Health Sciences

The College of Health Sciences of the University of Zimbabwe is based at Parirenyatwa. This is where the university's medical students train from third year onwards.

School of Nursing

The hospital has a school of nursing within the complex, which has three intakes of general nurses per year for a three-year diploma in nursing and some post-basic courses in intensive/theatre nursing, community and primary care nursing, and ophthalmic nursing.

Events

During a May 2023 meeting between Zimbabwe Nurses Association (ZINA) officials and the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health, at the Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals, ZINA officials described public health facilities across the country as death traps due to underfunding by the Government. ZINA Harare province chairperson Lucas Sharara pointed out that public health nurses are ignored by the Government and as a result, most of them are leaving the country for greener pastures. Why do our leaders go to Borrowdale Trauma Centre for medical services leaving our hospitals such as Harare and Parirenyatwa respectively?

ZINA Harare province treasurer Allan Nyamupinga said nurses are currently earning ZWL$45 000. They cannot afford a car, house, mortgage, or anything, because of the RTGS salary. ZINA has been trying to engage the employer but to no avail. Only two meetings had been held so far with the leadership of the new Republic’s Health ministry and this was only after protests by the nurses. Fees are pegged in USD whilst I am earning just $45 000.

A midwife from Mbuya Nehanda Maternity Hospital said women were giving birth on floor beds. She also revealed that the hospital designed to accommodate 30 expecting women was now forced to admit at least 70. Thousands of nurses have left the country for countries such as the UK, Ireland and Australia among others for better prospects. This has left many health clinics in Zimbabwe understaffed and struggling to cope with the demand for health services. ^[1]